Just announced, this massive concert is going to be one of the biggest events in country music history and will mark the anniversary of beloved country legend, Merle Haggard‘s birthday and also the anniversary of his death.
On April 6th, 2016 the world of country music fell silent as the news of a legend’s passing began spreading. The entire community mourned the loss of the beloved, cherished, and accomplished musician that helped pioneer the Bakersfield Sound movement. Tragically, the day he passed was also his 79th birthday.
Now, as the one year anniversary of that fateful day approaches, some of the biggest names in country music have banded together to put on a tremendous concert in his honor that will showcase his incredible music in a whole new way.
Haggard’s close friend and duet partner, Willie Nelson, has been credited with kickstarting the concert alongside Haggard’s widow, Theresa and his country-singing son, Ben Haggard. Together, the three selected the artists to be included and worked with Blackbird Presents to craft the entire production.
The all-star tribute to a man so many looked up to, admired, and grew up listening to will be held in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on what would’ve been his 80th birthday.
Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard will feature performances from artists like Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Hank Williams Jr., Loretta Lynn, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Alison Krauss, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kacey Musgraves, Ben Haggard, Ronnie Dunn, John Mellencamp, Dierks Bentley, The Avett Brothers, Warren Haynes, Lucinda Williams, John Anderson, Bobby Bare, and Connie Smith. Additional performers are scheduled to be announced in the coming weeks.
Haggard, one of the most notable and famous influences in country music, delivered a seemingly endless number of chart-topping hits like “Mama Tried”, “Okie from Muskogee”, “Today I Started Loving You Again”, “Sing Me Back Home”, and many more. In his later years, he worked on several duet albums with longtime friend Willie Nelson, including his last album Django and Jimmie in 2015.
Tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event will go on sale starting March 3rd, 2016 at 11 a.m. CST and are estimated to range between $49.50 – $299.00 with a portion of the sales going to one of country music’s closest causes: the T.J. Martell Foundation. The event will be held on Thursday, April 6th, 2017 at 7 p.m. local time.
Pre-sale tickets are on sale Tuesday, Feb 28, 2017 at 10 a.m. CST until Thursday, March 2 at 10:00 p.m. CST. Buy your tickets here and use the pre-sale code: SING.
We are thrilled to hear about this amazing concert in honor of Merle Haggard and cannot wait to see these top-notch artists deliver some of the best tributes to him!
Check out the poster for the event below along with a video of Vince Gill’s song mourning Haggard’s passing.